All Around the Mulberry Bush
by Rhianona
Summary: Sequel to Schism. In the aftermath of Countrycide, Ianto makes the decision to leave Torchwood and return to the Wizarding world. But, as he learns, Torchwood never really lets you go.


**Author's Note: ** Written for the Torchwood Big Bang. This is the (long awaited) sequel to _Schism_. It takes place directly after the end of _Schism_.

**Pairings:** Hints of various het and slash relationships but nothing blatant.

**Spoilers:** spoilers for TW season 1. AU for HP for OOTP onwards.

* * *

**Prologue:**

Blaise paced around the flat, anxious energy infusing his body in a way it had not done so for many years. Susan calmly catalogued her Healer's kit, making sure she had enough potions, tinctures, and balms for the injuries she assumed would need healing. It kept her busy, kept her from even dwelling on the reason for all this. The only person who appeared even slightly calm in this setting sat on the sofa and watched his friends with a gentle humor.

"Cannibals?" Susan exclaimed. "What the fuck are cannibals doing in Wales? And why did Ianto have to be involved?"

"He just has that type of luck," Blaise sighed. "Like Potter in that way."

"Well, I would prefer it if he didn't go and get himself killed," Susan huffed.

"I'm sure he would prefer the same," Sirius commented, a wry tone in his voice. "Poor Kit can't seem to catch a break."

Silence descended on the trio, all of whom had elected to wait for Ianto in his flat so that he would not be alone after the horrendous day he had experienced.

"Siri," Susan asked, interrupting the silence. "Do you think Ianto will ever return home?" Blaise pretended he wasn't listening avidly to his answer.

The older man shrugged, feeling slightly uncomfortable. He had a close relationship with Ianto, one that had resulted from Ianto's fifth year, where the two had helped each other recover from the different traumas inflicted on them. "Ianto has not mentioned anything to me," he finally said. "Just general feelings of unhappiness. I don't think his colleagues have changed their attitude towards him very much and he is growing tired of that."

"Doesn't he realize he could work anywhere in the Wizarding world he wanted if he came back?" Susan asked.

Sirius laughed gently. "Of course he knows. But we can't force him to leave Torchwood. He needs to decide what he wants to do on his own."

"Has Luna spoken to you?" Blaise queried. He stared out the darkened windows, trying to damp down the irritation he felt. He wanted Ianto home, wanted to see for himself that his friend was alright.

Sirius shot him a sharp glance. "She has — and that is why we can't pressure him. He _must_ decide on his own."

"What did Luna See?" Susan wanted to know, feeling frustrated at not knowing what they so clearly knew.

"Sorry, Susan. If Luna hasn't mentioned it to you, than we probably shouldn't say anything just yet," Sirius told her, his eyes apologizing but still looking every inch the Head Auror he was.

She sighed in response and closed her eyes briefly. "You're probably right." She might not like it, but if she had not been told, there was a good reason for it. Besides, she had long ago learned to trust the blonde Seer implicitly.

"Ianto should be here soon," she commented as she took note of the time.

"Got everything?" Sirius asked. Not that he doubted that she did.

"That and more," she confirmed with an easy grin.

"Good." He forced himself to appear calm. Soon, they would have Ianto in front of them and could take care of him since his own team hadn't. And after that, he hoped the awful feeling that had descended upon him ever since he had felt the distress charm for Ianto begin to warm would dissipate. He hated how it made him feel — it was too much like the war, and he would gladly box those feelings and fears away forever if he could.

He didn't think Susan or Blaise would disagree with him.

* * *

**Part I:**

Ianto smiled sleepily as he woke up surrounded in comfort. It still took him a few moments to remember the nightmare that yesterday's simple mission had become. He grimaced as some of the aches and pains made themselves known. Not even the various potions Susan had forced down his throat the night before or the small amounts of healing magic he had allowed her to use on him, could fully dissipate the remnants of all the cannibals had done to him. He hadn't allowed her to fully heal him, something she had heartily protested until he reminded her that he worked with Muggles and not even the advanced technology that Owen used could make him right as rain overnight.

None of his self-appointed keepers had liked his logic. Blaise had grown tightlipped, Susan fluttered around him, and Sirius refused to be satisfied until Ianto had ended up in his bed, surrounded by the other three.

Ianto couldn't, nor did he really want to protest the treatment. Sacrificing his independence to allow them to take care of him did not bother him the way it might have if Jack or Tosh insisted on spending the night with him. They weren't family, not like his current these three were.

"Knut for them?" Blaise asked, his sharp hazel eyes taking in Ianto's own thoughtful expression.

"Just thinking how glad I am that you came last night," he replied.

"Of course we would," Blaise scoffed.

"I never doubted that if I needed you, you would come," Ianto hastened to assure. "But it was nice not to have to ask. Nice to come home and have you waiting to care for me."

He snorted with derision. "I could do without it though. Too much like the bloody war," he complained.

"Too right you are," Susan agreed. She climbed out of the bed and used her wand to run a diagnostic. "How do you feel — and don't try and lie to me," she warned.

Ianto shrugged. "Not as bad as it could be. Just some aches and pains. The bruise balm definitely eased a lot of it." He had no reason to dissemble as he might have with Owen or Jack, not in front of them.

"Hmm…" she hummed, her wand twirling as she continued to read the diagnostic report. "At least you let me heal the broken ribs," she muttered. Shaking her head, she continued, "can't believe they let you drive back to Cardiff without wrapping them."

Ianto shifted uneasily, diverting his gaze from her. Blaise stifled a laugh; unfortunately, he still caught Susan's attention. "And what is so funny, Mister Zabini?" she asked, hands on her hips and looking so utterly matronly that Ianto's breath caught in his throat. How often had he seen her adopt a similar post during the war? Or Molly Weasley during those first few months after his rescue? He closed his eyes as the past threatened to overwhelm his present.

"Me thinks our Badger refused to let anyone treat him," Blaise answered. He sat up, stretching the kinks out of his body. He looked the picture of a model, his dusky skin gleaming in the sunlight that crept through the curtained windows. "Peace, Suze," he urged as she opened her mouth, likely to berate Ianto's irresponsible behavior. "No harm was done and without a medical report, his colleagues won't think it strange to find him mostly healed today."

But—" Susan protested, only to fall silent as the taller man pulled her in for an embrace.

"Ssh… my little healer. Everything is alright." She huffed into his shoulder but let him hold her.

"She worried," Sirius commented quietly and startling Ianto, who had thought the older man had remained sleeping.

Ianto met his gaze with eyes full of his battling emotions. "I don't mean to worry anyone," he whispered. He leaned back against the headboard; Sirius shifted so he could drape an arm around him.

"She— and we — just got you back," he explained. "You may be used to risking your life everyday for Torchwood, but we are not. And we don't want to lose you, not to something like this."

"You're an Auror," Ianto felt compelled to point out. Even with the War over for a few years, crime and dangerous wizards still existed and the life of an Auror was not one of peace.

"My job is still not as dangerous as a Torchwood agent. You have to admit that," Sirius pointed out in a calm way.

He grumbled, unable to counter that — Torchwood agents did not live long. "Looked up the records, huh?" he asked instead.

"Got a lecture from Hermione," Sirius confirmed.

"Huh," Ianto said. Blaise managed to calm down Susan and they both sat the end of the bed. "Going to try to convince me to return to the Wizarding world?" he challenged them.

Next to him, Sirius snorted, as if amused. Susan just looked eager, as if leaving Torchwood behind would make her so very happy.

"No one will force you back," Blaise carefully informed him.

"But if anyone could, it would be you three. Maybe Luna," Ianto pointed out. He folded his arms against his chest and raised an eyebrow as he saw something shift in Blaise's expression. Odd that, considering how much of a Slytherin the other other tended to be, complete with impassive body language. "What did she See then?" he asked, feeling resigned. And yet, a part of him as pleased — if she had Seen something that required his return to the Wizarding world, he did not have to make the decision himself.

It seemed as if Sirius at least read his mind, as he gave a bark of laughter. "Not going to be that easy, Kit," he warned.

"But she Saw something?" he persisted.

Blaise nodded his head in affirmation.

"She wouldn't tell us what it was she Saw. Only that if you choose to remain with Torchwood, events would unfold differently than if you came back to the Wizarding world."

"Differently, but not worse one way or the other?" Ianto asked.

Blaise shook his head. "She didn't specify. Just that you need to be the one to make the decision."

Ianto sighed. "I don't know if I want to return."

"But Ianto!" Susan protested.

"Hush, Suze," Sirius cautioned. "Don't push. It's a big decision. We're asking him to give up the life he has here."

Ianto sent Sirius a grateful look and cleared his throat. "Look, I'm going to shower. We can talk more after breakfast."

His friends nodded in agreement and didn't say anything else as he grabbed a change of clothes and headed for the bathroom. He had a lot to think about.

* * *

The thing was, he had made difficult decisions in his past. Most recently, his choice to remain with Torchwood after they discovered Lisa. None of his friends had wanted him to return to Torchwood and what they saw as another chance for him to be hurt. They wanted him in the Wizarding world where they could protect him.

"I like what I do," he had protested, turning away his gaze at their shocked looks. "Despite Lisa," and here, he choked on her name, "I believe in what Torchwood does. I want — and probably need — to help. I can't keep running away," he had confessed softly.

"Oh, Ianto," Hermione had said, laying a hand on his shoulder in comfort. "Come back to us when you're ready." And the others had agreed, even if they hadn't liked it. Only Luna had smirked at him, as if she had known something he hadn't. She probably had known more than she had let on, but she also would never say anything unless he either asked — or the world was in danger of ending.

The problem with his earlier conviction was that he had not taken cannibals into consideration. Not something with which he had ever expected to deal. By itself, he might not have felt the urge to leave, but the actions of his so-called colleagues in the aftermath left a lot to be desired.

The comfort given to him by Blaise, Sirius, and Susan stood in stark contrast to the way Torchwood had all but ignored him: how Gwen had focused on the why of the cannibals' actions and Jack had supported her; how Owen had shown more concern about Gwen's injuries and then the other cannibals than anyone else; how Tosh had focused on processing the scene in order to distance herself from almost being eaten; how he had sat on the edge of the SUV waiting and hoping for _someone_ to ask if he was okay and not one had.

He kept that in mind when he returned to Torchwood the next day.

"I'll be fine," he insisted as Susan protested his decision to return to the Hub and to work. "You've healed the worst of my injuries. I don't want to leave them shorthanded."

"Like they would notice," she pointed out and he shrugged.

"I promise to think about returning," he said instead. He didn't want to mention that Jack and the others would notice if he didn't show up — they would miss their coffee fix. Not that he was bitter about how the others viewed him.

"Owl us," Sirius ordered before apparating to his home. Blaise and Susan echoed his goodbye and followed suit. He sighed as he climbed into his car and headed out. He hated morning traffic.

* * *

"Ah, coffee," Jack greeted. Ianto forced a smile to his face as he handed him a mug. He made to leave the office and almost jumped in fright as Jack grabbed his wrist. His fingers gently moved up and down the exposed skin. "How are you feeling?" he inquired.

Ianto shrugged, letting Jack maintain the contact he seemed to want. Looking into the blue eye of the Captain, he saw that the other man genuinely wanted to know. It was more than he had expected. Perhaps he had underestimated his colleagues — or at least Jack. "Better, sir."

"Do you need Owen to look at you?"

Ianto shook his head. "Just a few aches and bruises."

"Are you sure? Tosh was worried that you may have been hurt more than you let on yesterday." Ianto found his gaze caught by Jack's piercing one. He wanted the truth — and Ianto could not tell him that Tosh's fears were right and only the intervention of Susan had kept from the A&E when he returned to Cardiff.

"I didn't need to make a trip to the local A&E," he prevaricated instead. "I imagine that if I had truly been hurt, I would not be in today either." A bit harsher than normal. He grimaced at the sharp look and tightening of the fingers around his wrist. He refused to apologize for his words and instead waited for Jack's response.

The other man gazed at him for a long moment. If Jack had been a wizard, Ianto would think he was trying to break through his _occlumency_ shields. Finally, he sighed and let go of Ianto's wrist. "Just… if you need to, let Owen check you out. It's his job."

He pasted a perfunctory smile on his face and nodded in agreement. "Of course, sir."

Jack was not the only one to corner him; Tosh did as well. "Ianto! You looked better than I expected."

He shrugged and smiled at her. "How are you recovering?"

"I've been better, but it's over, yeah?" she smiled wanly. "Hard to believe it was just humans."

"Humans can be quite monstrous," he replied, thinking of all the awful things he had seen done in the war. He patted her on the shoulder and left for the archives before she could question him further. In doing so, he completely missed the concerned look she gave him.

* * *

"Jack, did Ianto see Owen?" Tosh asked, sitting down in front of his desk with a worried look on her face.

He shook his head. "No, he said he felt fine. Why? Did you notice something?"

She sighed, biting her lip in concentration. "It's not what he said, so much as how he acted," she tried to explain. She didn't really know how to explain the uneasy feeling she had, as if the team had failed in some important way when it came to Ianto.

"Where is he now?" he asked, already pulling up the internal CCTV to try and find him.

"In the Archives," she answered.

"I'll ask Owen to check him over after lunch," Jack finally said. "He was acting strange this morning," he mused, as if trying to reassure himself that he was doing the right thing.

* * *

"Tea Boy! Jack wants me to check you over," Owen shouted as Ianto made to leave the conference room to return to the Archives. Ianto sighed and rolled his eyes as he heard Owen's grumblings. "Come on, let's go," Owen ordered with his usual hint of impatience.

Silently, Ianto unbuttoned his shirt and allowed Owen to conduct his medical exam. It went quickly. "Does it hurt anywhere?"

"Nothing a few neoprins can't cover," he answered. Or rather, the pain potions Susan had brought with her.

"Alright, get dressed. Should have known that Jack was overreacting," he muttered to himself.

Darkly, Ianto wondered how the doctor would react had he not had access to Susan and instead ended up in the hospital because Owen had been too concerned about Gwen to even make sure he was okay.

* * *

Ianto did not consider himself the type of man to hold a grudge and yet he could not help but view his continued treatment at the hands of his colleagues with a sense of bitterness. Beyond Jack and Tosh's initial concern, his team had quickly resumed their habit of ignoring him until they required something.

Perhaps he should have accepted their attitudes, even seen it as part of a twisted penance for hiding Lisa and almost destroying the world, but he could not. And maybe if he hadn't known that the Wizarding world would accept him completely and that he had several job offers waiting for him, he would have simply accepted it and made do. Instead, the allure of his once home echoed in his mind, luring him as a Siren's song would.

It wasn't any single thing that broke his resolve to stay at Torchwood; rather he just gave up. Why stay at Torchwood when no one seemed to appreciate his skills? When his colleagues ignored him more often than not? Why continue to put himself through that stress? That unhappiness?

He had returned after Lisa to prove to them and more importantly, to himself that he wasn't a coward who simply ran when things got tough. That he had grown and matured since he had fled the Wizarding world after the war. And he could finally admit to himself that he was no coward; choosing to resign his post at Three did not smack of running away. Returning to the Wizarding world for good meant he would not need to hide aspects of himself from his friends and colleagues anymore. He could _be_ himself and he rather liked that idea.

Ianto Jones was a wizard — and a damned good one. It was time to remember that but more importantly, it was time to return home.

* * *

Once he made his decision, everything moved very quickly. The Ministry of Magic informed the Future Operations Committee that they had decided to reassign their operative to another department and were sending someone else to replace him. The Committee didn't object, mostly because its members realized the benefit of having at least one member of MI-13 on Torchwood's staff. For Ianto, that simply meant that he handed over his flat's keys to the new operative, provided him with a compete dossier on Torchwood-Three, and sent his house elves to pack up his belongings.

It probably helped that his replacement was Dennis Creevey, another of his war buddies.

"Don't let anyone intimidate you," Ianto cautioned Dennis. "They're not going to be happy you've just been handed to them without any say so on their part. Jack — Captain Harkness — especially likes to think that Torchwood is beyond the government and doesn't have to listen to anyone but himself and occasionally the Queen."

"Oh, don't worry, Ianto," Dennis assured him with a cheerful grin. How he had managed to maintain his sense of humor through the war, Ianto had never figured out but he had been a sort of mascot to their group before he became old enough to properly join the Marauders. "I know exactly how to handle them." He sounded very confident in his abilities.

"If you need help, send me an owl or get me on the floo," he insisted.

Personally, Ianto did not really care one way or the other how his former colleagues would react to his replacement. He had complete confidence in Dennis. Despite the cheery and harmless front he presented to the world, he could more than stand his own when pushed. Ianto wouldn't be surprised if the agents at Three pushed him to that extreme; almost none of them like the Committee's directives and this would be too blatant to ignore.

Perhaps, he mused, he acted cowardly by not informing anyone of his transfer. Tosh, he suspected would be hurt by his abrupt leaving. On the other hand, Ianto was tired of catering to the whims of his fellow agents; he was tired of Torchwood. His recent excursion into the magical world after Lisa's death had merely served as a reminder of how much he missed it. And if, in returning, he only had a life of leisure, he might feel excited. Luna, however had already recruited him for the Department of Mysteries, a position he was excited to take on.

Dennis would do fine in Torchwood. Unlike him, he had no history with the organization that could come back to haunt him. So, taking a deep breath, he hugged his friend goodbye.

"I'm living with Sirius, if you need me," he told Dennis. "Good luck."

And with that, Ianto left Cardiff and Torchwood and entered his new life.

* * *

Jack had mixed feelings towards the Future Operations Committee. On the one hand, he appreciated that they left him alone to run his branch of Torchwood. They rarely interfered with his decisions, even when he assumed they would. Case in point: they allowed him to handle Ianto's punishment after the Lisa incident. Not one protest over not Retconning or killing the other man.

This did not mean they never interfered, of course. Like now. The news that Torchwood did not actually employ Ianto came as a surprise to him. He was embarrassed to realize that he hadn't known Ianto was seconded to the organization. He really should have read his personnel file a bit more carefully.

He was upset, of course. Not just because the Committee had informed him of Ianto's replacement, but also because the other man hadn't even discussed or informed him of his transfer away from Torchwood and him.

"Captain Harkness," Sir Bainsbridge, the head of the Committee had told him, "you will accept Agent Creevey as Agent Jones' replacement. Agent Jones has been recalled and reassigned to another division within his organization. Agent Creevey is a suitable replacement."

Jack hated that he had no choice in the matter. He hated not having control over his team.

"Team meeting!" he barked into the comms. His team scurried to the conference room and he stalked in after them.

"Where's Tea Boy?" Owen snarked.

"Transferred," jack spat out. "He was only seconded to here and MI-13 apparently required him back."

"MI-13 is a myth," Owen insisted, arms crossed against his chest and a scowl firmly affixed to his face.

"No, it's not," Tosh countered, a frown on her face. "It exists, but no one knows much about it. It's even more of a secret than Torchwood or UNIT."

"And Ianto works for them?" Gwen asked, the bewilderment they all felt showing plainly on her face.

"Apparently," Jack replied, voice bitter. "His replacement starts tomorrow."

"Ianto is already gone?" Tosh asked, startled.

"So it seems," Jack said and watched the stunned looks that crossed everyone's faces. Gwen opened her mouth to make a comment but closed it after a pained frown towards Owen. He guessed — and could only thank the medic — that he had nudged her to keep her quiet.

"Mister Creevey begins tomorrow. Tosh, I want you to help him set up. He's mostly going to be general support and work in the Archives, though I'll make sure he's at least competent with small firearms." He tried to look stern, tried to appear as if Ianto leaving didn't make one whit of difference to him.

He had no idea how well he succeeded, since he left the room as quickly as he could to avoid any further comments from his team. He wanted to storm over to Ianto's flat and demand an answer. The only reason he didn't was because he couldn't be sure he wouldn't kill the other man — or if he was even still in Cardiff. He was not happy about this turn of events.

* * *

"I had Winky clean your room," Sirius informed him. "Everything is set up for you."

"Thanks, Sirius. I appreciate you letting me move in with you," Ianto smiled.

"I like the company," Sirius confessed. "I've been spending more and more time out of the office now that the Aurors are actually competent and I don't need to ride herd on them."

"Glad I can help out," Ianto gave him a cheeky grin.

"You know we're all excited you're back," Sirius continued. "And if you don't want to work for the Department of Mysteries, there are other possibilities available."

"I know," Ianto replied. He leaned back in his chair and sipped his brandy. "I'm not sorry I left after the war. Torchwood gave me something I needed, helped me heal from what happened during the war."

"And now?" Sirius asked, cradling his own snifter of brandy in his hand.

He gave a self-deprecating shrug. "After Canary Wharf, I remained with Torchwood because of Lisa, because I thought I could save her. And when that failed, I stayed because I wanted to prove to myself that I wouldn't run away when things went to shit. If — and that's a big if — my colleagues at Three had done more than they did, if they hadn't ignored me as much as they had, I probably would have stayed. But, Torchwood can't give me what I need, not anymore and I'm tried of staying with them when I can be somewhere else and work with people who like me and care about me."

"Makes sense to me," Sirius stated with a familiar grin. "They don't know what they lost."

Ianto appreciated his comments and welcoming nature. At the least, it helped him decide that he had made the right decision in leaving Torchwood.

* * *

Tosh didn't know what to think about Ianto leaving Torchwood. A part of her, the part that had seen and done little to stop the way the team had so quickly reverted to their pre-Lisa behavior, couldn't blame him for deciding enough was enough and getting out while he could. Another part of her, the part that had considered him more than a colleague and an actual friend, couldn't help but hate him for leaving without a word.

Her relationship with Ianto was fairly straight forward and if she felt betrayed by his actions, she did not want to think about how Jack felt. The two men had always had a complicated rapport with each other, one that had only grown more tense with the discovery of the Cyberwoman, followed by Ianto's decision to spend his suspension in London with a hitherto unheard of cousin. She had not been able to discover much information about this cousin of his, much to Jack's consternation. And Ianto had not spoken of him upon his return; more than that, he had looked relaxed and at peace with what had happened on his return. That had implied to her that whoever Ianto had stayed with during those four weeks had his best interest at heart. She only wished he had felt comfortable enough with her to speak of it.

All of that meant that while she felt upset at Ianto's leaving, it probably did not come close to what Jack felt about it. Not that he had acted very much differently than normal, of course. Still, Tosh had detected his unhappiness over his announcement so had stuck around after Owen and Gwen had left to speak with him about what had happened. Not just for his peace of mind, but also for her own; Owen and Gwen had no real interest in talking about Ianto.

Which was how she found herself sharing a tumbler of scotch with Jack in his office.

"Do you think he asked to be transferred?" she asked him.

He shrugged, trying to pretend that he did not care one whit for the day's surprise. It didn't work for Tosh. "Doesn't really matter if he did or not. He's gone and we have this Creevey character instead."

"I wonder what he's like?" Tosh mused.

Jack didn't answer; instead he stared at the amber liquid in his glass and brooded. This told Tosh that he had been as blindsided by Ianto decision to leave Torchwood as the rest of them. It also meant that he would not go out of his way to ensure that Creevey made the transition to Torchwood easily.

She took another sip of her own scotch and considered the likely reactions of Gwen and Owen to Creevey. Owen would put on his most obnoxious airs and do his best to act superior. Creevey didn't even have the benefit of breasts to distract him. Gwen though… she was an enigma. She might follow Owen's lead and do her best to antagonize the new agent or she might follow Jack's lead and ignore him or she might act neutral towards him until she saw how the wind blew or she might disregard everyone's attitudes and take him under her wing.

Tosh still didn't know how she might react to him. She wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt but his coming also meant Ianto's transfer and she was still hurt by his silent disappearance.

"You should go home, Tosh," Jack told her, bringing her back to her surroundings. He gave her a tired smile. "Big day tomorrow, with the new guy arriving."

"Are you sure you don't want company?" she asked after she drained the remainder of the scotch in her glass. She was concerned at the almost dead look in his eyes. She was afraid he would do something unwise after she left.

"I'm good," Jack insisted. She hesitated a moment more before giving him the briefest of hugs. Her face red with embarrassment, she fled the Hub for home. She didn't know why she thought he needed a hug but he had. It still embarrassed her; Jack was her boss.

Later that night, she wondered what Mister Creevey would bring to the team. Would he have the same skill sets as Ianto? He was, after all, taking over for the other man. Or, would he have other strengths?

She didn't know which would be better. As she tried to fall asleep, she hoped Ianto was happy, wherever he was.

* * *

Dennis Creevey checked his appearance in the mirror hanging in his new flat one last time and grinned. He thought he looked rather smart — and the mirror agreed. "Very dashing," she said in an approving manner.

"Thanks, love," he said. It had taken several years for him to get used to mirrors with imbued personalities, but he finally had. He actually thought it was a great laugh and since he tended to live on his own, he liked having a second opinion on his clothing choice before he left his flat.

Ianto had advised him on what to wear to the Hub. "You don't need to dress up for Torchwood," he had told him. "I was the only one to wear a suit, for instance." He had given Dennis a sad smile. "Hold over from London," he had gone on to explain.

"Denims okay, then?" Dennis had asked, leg swinging back and forth as he had rested his pen on the notebook he had been using to take notes.

"Oh, yeah," Ianto had assured him. "Owen and Gwen's usual attired, in fact."

Today, however, was Dennis' first day and he wanted to make a good first impression on his new colleagues. He compromised and wore a pair of khakis with a button-down shirt. It felt odd not to wear robes or one of those snazzy black uniforms he had worn for UNIT, but he didn't mind the freedom these new clothes gave him. He got to explore his own fashions for once and experiment to see what he liked best. Plus, the lack of robes gave him extra freedom of movement, since, as Ianto had explained, working for Torchwood inevitably led to a lot of running. Even if he was to remain in the Hub.

Satisfied that he could do nothing else to further his appearance, Dennis grabbed the keys to the flat and headed for the Hub. It wasn't a very long walk, though he liked the exercise. He also stopped by a coffee shop Ianto had recommended to pick up his breakfast. He munched on the muffin and sipped the rather delicious coffee as he made his way across Roald Dahl Plass and down the Quay to the rather shoddy looking Tourist Center that served as a front for Torchwood-Three.

His eyebrow raised at the rather derelict appearance it held but then, the objective was for people to _avoid_ entering and playing happy tourist. He would certainly never enter a place like this if he were on holiday. He pushed open the door, grinning and bouncing on his feet with excitement as he finally entered.

No one was there, so he settled down to wait. It wouldn't surprise him if the lack of anyone waiting for him was on purpose. Ianto had even suggested that something like this might occur. It didn't bother Dennis overly much since it gave him time to finish his coffee.

Fifteen minutes later, he had browsed through all the brochures advertising various tourist attractions in the Cardiff area, read the health and safety postings on the walls, and memorized the placement of each object in the room. As he looked around for something else to do, a door hissed open and a man dressed in old-fashion clothing appeared framed within.

"Captain Harkness, I presume?" he asked, sounding only a little facetious as he extended his hand in greeting.

* * *

Luna latched onto Ianto as soon as he entered the Ministry. She immediately showed him to his office in the bowels of the building, waving to several others as "belonging to members of the team," on their way. She scarcely gave him enough time to place his things down before dragging him to a large conference room.

It was not precisely how he expected to spend his first day as an Unspeakable but then this was Luna and she had a tendency to turn everything and everyone on their heads.

"You know everyone," Luna said by way of introduction and shoved him into a chair between Blaise and Fleur. One of the Weasley twins sat across from him, with Astoria Greengrass next to him.

"Now that Ianto's here, we can begin," Luna announced. She handed out copies of what looked like a complex ward scheme.

The Weasley twin — Ianto wasn't sure which one it was, but knew that he would be working with both of them — whistled. "I see why you wanted to wait until Kit was here," he admitted.

"What type of runes are these?" Astoria asked, a frown on her face as she tried to decipher some of them.

"Looks like Ogham, Elder Futhark and Anglo-Saxon Futhorc," Fleur identified. Ianto knew that she at least had some experience in wards, seeing as she had taught him some of what he knew when they had both belonged to the Marauders.

"But not all of them fall into those families," Blaise pointed out. "I don't even recognize half of these."

"Some of these are Egyptian hieroglyphs. They look like they're from different dynasties too," Fleur said and pointed to what was obviously a horus eye.

Ianto studied the scheme in front of him. He knew that he had seen at least some of the unidentified symbols before, but he couldn't remember from which ancient script they came. "They're not all runes," he commented, almost absently as he wracked his brain to try and remember which cultures had left the symbols behind.

"What?" Astoria asked and sounded surprised.

He blinked up at her in confusion. A quick glance around the table showed that only Fleur and possibly Luna understood what he meant. Not even Blaise got what he was trying to say.

"What do you recognize?" Fleur asked and gave him an encouraging smile.

"These symbols," he said slowly, tracing them with a finger, "they're not all runes. At least, they don't fall into the formal definition of a rune."

More blank looks and he sighed. "Why don't you explain?" Luna suggested. He shrugged not understanding why she didn't just explain what the ward was for instead of having him explain something pretty basic. Or at least something he considered pretty basic. Perhaps she wanted to make him feel comfortable or to make sure she hadn't made a mistake in snagging him for her team. He shook his head, not wanting to get lost trying to decipher Luna Lovegood's actions. It had driven better men than he mad.

"Right, then," he began. "The symbols we commonly call runes all belong to a specific alphabet system used by Northern European societies centuries ago. There is some thought that they are adapted from the Etruscan or Greek alphabets, but no one knows for sure. What is known is that our ancestors would have used them in writing and not the Latin alphabet we currently use. It's why so many of the old magicks require an understanding of runes to cast successfully. We use runes to anchor warding scheme because they have power, having been used as such for so long."

"Right, we learn that in Ancient Runes," Blaise interrupted. "What does that have to do with this?" He looked confused rather than impatient and Ianto have his friend a quick grin even as he wondered at the group's ignorance. Granted, he had been the warder for the Marauders, taking over after Fleur and Bill had left for other positions in the War, but he hadn't realized just how much more he knew compared to the others, even those with a basic knowledge of runes.

"Fleur, what's a ward?" he asked instead.

The French beauty and mother of two furrowed her brow as she considered his question. He suspected it was all for play rather than necessity. She had, after all, been one of his instructors in this topic. "Wards are spells held together through the use of runes or other symbols. A ward is too complicated for a simple wand wave and incantation and require runes or other symbols to stabilize it," she answered.

"Exactly," Ianto grinned. "Runes have meaning because the magic used with them for centuries have imbued them with power. When we take down a ward, we're unraveling the meaning of the rune, which then destabilizes the ward and collapses the intent of the spell."

"These other markings are those symbols you keep mentioning?" Astoria asked.

"Exactly. They serve the same purpose as a rune and are examples from other ancient scripts, most of them older than runes, in fact. But even these symbols from some of the South American cultures," he said, pointing out the Aztec, Mayan, Incan, and Olmec ones that he recognized, "have a lot of power, in part because of the magicks the people from their cultures used them for. They're not used as often as they once were, but they are still quite powerful to use in warding scheme."

The others remained silent, absorbing all that Fleur and Ianto had tried to explain.

Blaise suddenly laughed and shook his head. "I see why you said we needed Ianto as our other warder," he told Luna. "Not because he was one of us, but because he actually knows these things." He gave a self-deprecating smile. "I personally have no idea where to start on this. I _thought_ I had a basic understanding of wards, just from spending so much time with Kit here during the War, but looking at this, I can tell it is far beyond my comprehension."

"I can help with the Egyptian hieroglyphs and the Middle Eastern scripts, but I am not familiar with the Far East or American ones," Fleur offered. Ianto nodded in acceptance, having guessed she would offer to help with those particular scripts, given her background.

"Luna… what exactly are we going to do with this ward? Are we just breaking it down for fun? Or is there something coming that we're going to need it for?" the Weasley twin asked.

"I don't understand," Astoria admitted. "Why does it matter?"

Ianto made a mental note to find out what her speciality was and for how long she had been on the team. Obviously, she knew nothing about warding but she had to have expertise in one or more fields of magic to have become an Unspeakable and Luna would not have chosen her if she could not help.

Fleur looked distinctly put out as she explained. "When you deconstruct a ward, it does not matter if you do not understand what each symbol means. Often, if you simply know what a ward is meant to do, you can simply de-power the runes or symbols you understand and overpower the rest of the scheme to render the ward useless." Her French accent had grown more pronounced, a sure sign of her annoyance. "But to cast a ward, you must have an understanding of the meaning of each rune or symbol used both alone and in combination with each other in order to successfully cast it."

"It also helps to know that when deconstructing a ward. It means you don't have to overpower the scheme as much so it's not as flashy when it comes down," Blaise added. He looked smug at being able to share that bit of wisdom with the others, until Luna's knowing look and the other's slightly confused looks brought a pout to his face. "Alright, fine. I might have remembered that from a lecture Ianto gave to the Marauders when someone asked why he simply didn't overpower each and every warding scheme we came across." Ianto hid his grin, remembering the acerbic lecture he had given his fellow Marauders when Daphne had complained at how long he was taking. The lecture itself he had cribbed off of one Bill had given him when he had made a similar comment early in his learning.

"We need to be able to cast it and if we can't, well… we need to know that as well," Luna stated, stalling any further discussion by telling them that.

"Merlin's balls!" Weasley cursed. "That's… that's going to take _months_ to crack. And only two of us have ever studied wards in depth and one of those, I wager, hasn't touched a ward in years!"

"Are you saying you're not up to the challenge?" Blaise drawled, coming to Ianto's defense. He lounged in his chair and gave the Weasley twin a flinty glare.

"I'm saying," Weasley began, "that it's going to take months to id and assign values to those symbols. I'm worried about the time it'll take, not whether your boyfriend can do it or not."

Ianto flushed at the insinuation; true, he and Blaise had once been casual lovers, just as they had both slept with most of the other Marauders at one time or another during the War. It had never been more than comfort though, and Blaise had certainly never indicated he might want a proper relationship since Ianto had returned to the Wizarding world. Of course, that was directly in the aftermath of the death of Lisa, so it might not have been an appropriate time to even ask but still…

Blaise, for his part, merely raised an eyebrow at the statement and gave the twin an evil grin. He must have realized he had overstepped his bounds, because he mumbled an apology.

"The ward has a separate arithmatic and potions portion too," Luna interjected before anything else could be said. She also sounded as if she had just given them the best of news.

"The arithmancy is for me and Blaise, then?" Astoria asked. Luna nodded in reply.

"You'll be getting that tomorrow," she told them.

"And that leaves potions to you, my twin, and me?" Weasley asked.

"Exactly," Luna agreed with a cheerful smile.

"Luna…," Ianto asked, slowly and with reluctance. "This is just experimental, right?" He felt overwhelmed. First day on the job — first day back in the Wizarding world for more than a visit, and she handed him this.

She gave him another mysterious smile and stood up. "Blaise, show Ianto around the Department and tell him the rules. We'll meet again tomorrow morning and I'll have those arithmancy equations and the potion recipes for those of us not working on the ward scheme." She gave them all a little wave and with a jaunty skip, left them to the room.

"I guess that's an answer," Ianto mumbled to himself. It didn't leave him with a lot of confidence but he put that thought to bed as Blaise and Fleur gave him a tour of his new workplace.

If nothing else, life as an Unspeakable promised not to be boring.

* * *

"How was your first day, kiddo?" Sirius asked over dinner.

Ianto shrugged as he carefully cut into the steak Winky had perfectly prepared. "Alright, I guess," he finally answered.

"Aw…" Sirius pouted. "Don't tell me you're going to go and play the 'my work is too mysterious' for poor old me to understand."

Ianto flushed a little at the reprimand, as undeserved as it was, and put down his utensils. He shook his head. "No, I don't think that at all, Sirius. You know I respect you far too much to think that."

Sirius smiled gently. "I know, Kit. Just teasing. I know that Unspeakables can't give details about their work."

"It's not that," Ianto protested. He frowned for a moment and took a sip of wine before continuing. He idly tapped his fingers against the napkin in his lap and gave his mentor a plaintive look. "We were looking at a warding scheme today, and I was just surprised by how little most of the people in my group knew about them. Even… well one of them I know has experience with wards and runes but even she didn't know much as me. And well…. I've not really studied them since the war ended, so I expected to have to play catch up, not give an impromptu lecture."

Sirius gave his familiar bark of laughter and put down his own glass of wine before he could spill any of it. "Ianto, you've always had a rare gift for wards. It's one reason Bill and Fleur were willing to leave an active field unit like the Marauders."

"But Fleur got pregnant and then Bill was injured," Ianto pointed out, looking and feeling confused.

"Bill would have come back if he thought the Marauders needed his skills," Sirius explained with a shake of his head. "But you had it well enough in hand and there were other groups that needed his help, so he went with them instead of returning."

"Oh," Ianto said and blinked. "I… I didn't realize."

Sirius finished chewing and smiled. "Ianto, you have a real gift with wards. You just soaked up all the knowledge of runes, ancient scripts, and wards, taxing everyone to try and keep up with you. Everyone was thrilled when we realized you didn't need much more than decent books that explained the meanings of runes, glyphs, and symbols and how they're used in warding."

Ianto was shocked and it showed on his face.

"I thought you had realized that, Kit," Sirius apologized.

Ianto shook his head and picked up his fork to eat his meal before it got cold. "No… You couldn't have known. I… I should probably have realized but I guess I just never thought about it."

"There were more important things going on at the time," Sirius said and began to eat.

"True," Ianto agreed. And, as they ate, Sirius guided the conversation to less fraught topics, demonstrating that the Pureblood manners instilled in him as a child had stuck despite his best efforts to the contrary. It was just one more aspect of the older man that Ianto loved.

* * *

Dennis let himself into his flat and sighed. He smiled as he saw the waiting meal, kept hot by a stasis charm, on his table. A note was propped next to the plate, identifying the culprit responsible for it as Ianto, via Winky. He couldn't — and wouldn't — complain about the treatment. He was exhausted despite not having a particularly strenuous day. The mental strain of dealing with his new colleagues had drained him more than he had expected.

Ianto had accurately predicted the reactions of Torchwood-Three to his transfer there. Dennis shouldn't have doubted his friend and former teammate, but he had hoped they would be more friendly than they had proven to be.

From the moment he had introduced himself, Captain Harkness had been curt and dismissive. He had studied him throughout the day, but had done his best to appear like he hadn't. He had given Dennis a tour of the Hub, pointing out where he would be spending more of his time in his dramatic and expansive way. And yet, he had refused to respond to any inquiries Dennis had made unless they related directly to his job at Torchwood and had fairly flung him at Toshiko Sato.

He had had a certain amount of curiosity towards the pretty Asian tech; Ianto had nothing but positive things to say about her. He had given her his best smile and listened attentively to everything she said. He even asked questions of her when he didn't quite follow what she had said, something that had taken her by surprise. Toshiko had proven quite reserved, again despite his best efforts, but had efficiently demonstrated the computer system he would use, given him his login information, set him up on his own computer, given him a Torchwood mobile and bluetooth, and had explained the Archive system. Captain Harkness had not yet given him the authorization to work in the Archives, but it would become his responsibility as soon as he did. Dennis figured it would take a little while before the Captain trusted him enough to work in there. Until then, he planned to be as innocuous as possible.

Torchwood-Three's doctor had been as acerbic as Ianto had predicted. Doctor Harper had rushed through the medical exam, muttering about how they didn't need any 'ponces waltzing in from MI-13.' Dennis had chosen to ignore the comments; he understood that the doctor merely felt territorial and didn't particularly like change. WIth the exception of Gwen Cooper, most of the agents at Torchwood had worked together for years. It didn't help that as he was merely seconded and on loan from a governmental agency they knew nothing about. Dennis figured he could cut the doctor some slack in his attitude.

The last member of his new team had taken one look at him, saw his baby face countenance and proceeded to treat him as if he were a neophyte. In all fairness, Dennis recognized that they had no way of knowing just how much experience he had. Even if they had seen his file, he knew that much of it was blacked out. It probably listed the bare essentials and the list of commendations and awards he had received. Still, Gwen's attitude towards him had grated. She had insisted on warning him about how dangerous working for Torchwood could be, relating some of the experiences that she had had in her initial days with the agency. He had listened politely and respectfully ignored her hints that he should request a transfer.

Dennis had not been approved to work for Torchwood merely because he had requested the opportunity to do so. Instead, it was his experience that had led to it. He had worked for UNIT and while it was a different governmental agency, it gave him enough familiarity to be an asset in his new position. And he actually understood why the others didn't necessarily trust him or welcome him with open arms. They may have treated Ianto poorly, but they knew him and had been comfortable with him. Dennis, on the other hand, was completely unknown.

Ianto had battled against the prejudice of working for Torchwood-One; for some reason, they hadn't realized that he was seconded to Torchwood so had only focused on his past in London. It had helped that by the time he had begun to work for the Cardiff branch, London had no longer existed so there wasn't a worry of espionage for another agency. Dennis didn't have that illusion of safety. Captain Harkness had no say in his presence at Torchwood-Three, so of course he resented him. The rest took their cue from their leader.

He wasn't overly worried; he had handled much more difficult situations in the past and came out golden. It might take a while to convince the others of his harmless nature, but he would. He was a very patient person.

* * *

Ianto woke up early and dressed quickly. He gulped down the breakfast Winky had made for him, called out his goodbyes to her and Sirius and flooed to his family manor. As always, he had to brace himself against the onslaught of memories that assaulted him as he entered the waiting room. It was the main reason he had chosen to live with Sirius rather than here. He took a few moments to lock down the painful memories before heading to the library. One of his house elves, Zex, popped next to him as he made his way down the hall.

"Master Jones! You is here!" the hyper creature gasped.

"Hello, Zex. I trust you and the others are well?" Ianto asked with a kind smile.

Zex nodded vigorously. "What cans I do for Master?"

"Nothing, I'm afraid. I'm just here to pick up some books for research," Ianto told him and immediately felt regret for the sad expression that crossed the little elf's face. He stopped his progress and knelt next to him. "I know you and the others would love it if I moved back here full time but… I just can't. I'm so sorry Zex. Maybe I'll one day be able to live here again, but it's just too difficult for me."

"I knows," Zex admitted and wrung his hands with agitation.

Ianto sighed and thought for a moment. He clasped Zex's shoulder and gave him a little grin. "I'm living with Sirius again. While Winky works for him, I'm sure she could use some help. You and the others can take turns helping her. Or you can also help Dennis in my old flat. I'm sure he would appreciate anything you can do for him. Torchwood will have him working long hours," he suggested. He hated that his family house elves had so little to do since he refused to live in the Manor and had eschewed the Wizarding world for so long.

"Oh, thanks you! Master Jones is so very kind, giving us some works to do," Zex said, tears glowing in his eyes. Ianto patted him awkwardly on the shoulder and stood. Zex waited until he had stood before popping away, probably to tell the others. He didn't mind; as long as it made them happy, he was satisfied.

The library looked exactly as it had the last time he had visited. Was it merely months ago that he had stayed here for a few days before Sirius had all but insisted he stay with him instead? His elves had put away any books he might have left out; it looked peaceful. He strode quickly towards the section on wards and ancient scripts. He gathered the books he thought would offer the most use to cracking the scheme and placed them in his carryall. He checked the time and nearly swore as he realized he had to hurry or he'd be late. He didn't think Luna would mind, but he could do without the teasing Blaise and whichever Weasley twin was working today would happily give him.

* * *

Blaise looked at him with an amused expression, arms crossed and an eyebrow raised, as Ianto carefully piled the books he had taken onto the table. "Did you raid the bookstore?" he asked.

"Didn't have to," Ianto replied, a bit absently as he sorted through them, arranging them by subject. "There was a period of time in my life when all anyone got me were books on runes, ancient scripts or warding." He looked up with a frown. "In fact, I seem to recall you giving me a few of these yourself."

Blaise flushed, though it was difficult to tell with his dark skin and ignored Ianto's comment, content to glare at everyone else and dare them to laugh.

"Are we ready, then," Luna asked in an airy manner. Her wand was tucked behind her ear, her long blonde hair swaying with each step as she handed a stack of bound paper to Astoria and Blaise. "Your arithmatic equations." The two Arithmancy masters didn't bother waiting before immediately bending their heads and examining what she had handed them. Astoria bit her lip in consternation but her eyes showed a lively interest in the material. Ianto snuck a glance at his friend and saw that Blaise looked equally intrigued in what was before him.

"George, you and I will start working on the potion. I spoke to your brother about it yesterday so he's up to date on it," Luna continued. George nodded and began to go over the potion recipe she had handed him. "Fleur, Ianto, that leaves you two to identify and decipher the ward scheme." She glanced to the pile of books on the table and smiled. "I see Ianto has brought some books to help but let me know if you need any others."

Ianto turned towards his partner and grinned. He felt a frisson of excitement, one he hadn't felt since the end of the war. He relished the challenge of working on this scheme and by the sharp look Fleur gave him, he knew she did too. He flicked his wand to gather the books and followed her to her office to begin work. This — this was the reason he had returned to the Wizarding world.

He couldn't wait to get lost in the world of wards.

* * *

This set the pattern for the next several weeks for Ianto. In some ways, it reminded him of the war; he spent hours each day revising and deciphering the symbols of the ward scheme. Runes, symbols, and ancients scripts became his life. Fleur worked by his side, her soft accented voice reminding him of when he had first began his studies. Luna brought the team together every few days to go over what they had each discovered about their individual projects. The only difference between all of this and his time during the War was that this lacked the sense of urgency that had permeated everything during that time.

"That is the last of the Egyptian hieroglyphs," Fleur announced at the end of his first week. She stretched her back and smiled.

"Already?" Ianto asked, surprised for a brief moment before he shook his head in a self-deprecating manner. "I apologize. Of course you're finished. You know them quite well. I should have remembered."

She laid a hand on his and smiled. "Hush, Ianto. I was not offended. I am a bit surprised myself at how quickly this went. It has been a while since I worked with hieroglyphs." He gave her a weak smile in return. "How is your work?"

He shrugged and cracked his neck a bit. He sent her an apologetic grin at the noise and ran the biro through his fingers. "I think I managed to identify each of the families the ancient scripts are from."

"But that is wonderful!" she praised.

He flushed a little and ducked his head. "I still need to identify what each one is and what it means in combination with all the others," he felt compelled to point out.

"I will work on the cuneiform next," Fleur announced. "Or do you think I should decipher the runes now so that we might have an idea of what the ward does?"

He leaned back in his chair and tapped his biro against the desk in a distracted manner. "I don't know," he finally admitted. "It's a good idea, but I'm worried we'll get too bogged down with the familiar and not consider other possibilities."

Fleur's eyes narrowed in thought. She nodded. "I think you are right. So cuneiform it is!" she grinned. She bent her head to renewed study and silence returned for a few moments.

"Bill misses you," she said after a while. She looked at him through her eyelashes.

"How is he?" Ianto asked.

"Well. Gringotts and the children keep him busy," she answered. "You will come to dinner next week, yes?"

"How can I refuse?" he finally replied. It wasn't that Ianto didn't want to see Bill; he had missed him and would enjoy catch up with him. He just suspected Fleur had some sort of devious plan for him and that made him a bit wary.

"Good," she said with a satisfied smirk. He shook his head with a small laugh and continued with his own work. What would come, would come and nothing he did would prevent it.

* * *

"This is the most complex formula on which either of us have ever worked," Blaise explained while Astoria tacked up some of their work in the conference room. "It's magnitudes more difficult than anything I worked on during the war."

"It's going to take time to work through each equation and make sure that they fit together properly," Astoria finished reporting. There was a fervor of excitement in both their miens; they both clearly relished the challenge Luna had handed them. "Once we do… it could revolutionize the entire field."

"Concentrate on solving all of it first," Luna suggested and turned her attention to Ianto and Fleur.

Taking that as her cue to start, Fleur began to explain what they had done this past week. "Ianto identified each of the ancient scripts used in the scheme so he has begun to work on specific families now. I finished identifying and deciphering the hieroglyphs." She shook her long silver hair in admiration. "It is very complex and will require a lot of work if the hieroglyphs are any indication. I started to work on the cuneiform but…" she gave a nonchalant shrug, "it has never been one of my strengths, so it is slow going."

Ianto picked up the thread and reported on his own progress. "I've started to work with the South American scripts. They are the most obscure because they are so rare and not much is known about them so might take the longest to figure out."

"Do the best you can," Luna instructed, her face emotionless so he couldn't tell just how important their progress — or lack thereof — was.

"Luna knows, of course, how the potions are coming along," Weasley said. "Like everything else, it's complex and takes a while to brew correctly. George and I agree with Luna though in that we can do this."

* * *

"Ianto, leave the books alone and come and relax," Sirius cajoled. Ianto tried to frown but yawned instead.

"But…" he protested even as Sirius pulled the biro from his hand and stacked his notebooks and reference material on his desk.

"You need to relax. We're going to the Three Broomsticks," Sirius insisted. "This will all be waiting for you tomorrow but if you keep doing this you'll drive yourself into the ground."

He didn't have a good counter argument to that and instead rolled his eyes. "Yes, Sirius," he drawled. He glanced down at his clothes and wondered if he should change.

"You look fine," Sirius insisted and Ianto guessed he had surmised what he was thinking. Ianto allowed him to manhandle him to the floo and accepted the handful of floo powder needed to get to the Three Broomsticks.

Stepping through, he blinked in the light and then raised his hand in greeting, recognizing several of his friends already present.

"I see Sirius was successful," Remus said and opened his arms for a hug. Ianto shrugged, not bothering to deny what was obvious and moved on to greet Neville and Harry.

"How you doing, mate?" Neville asked and slapped him on the back. Harry merely nodded in acknowledgment of his presence, which was more than Ianto had expected. He had always had a complicated relationship with him and time away from the Wizarding world had not changed that. Their ties and loyalty to the Marauders would always call them together but they would never have an easy friendship.

By the time Sirius joined them, Neville had pressed a bottle of butterbeer into Ianto's hand and had begun a conversation about the rest of their group. Later, Harry had unwound enough to exchange amusing anecdotes about the students with Remus and Neville. Sirius countered with some of the inanities he had seen in the Auror department. All in all, it was one of the more relaxing nights Ianto had enjoyed in a long way. When he finally fell asleep that night, he privately acknowledged that Sirius was correct in forcing him to put his work down.

Not that he would ever tell the other man. His ego was large enough as it was.

* * *

Dennis, by contrast, did not have as easy of a time integrating with Torchwood as Ianto had with the Unspeakables. Ianto had had an advantage that Dennis didn't have: namely, he not only knew the people with whom he now worked but had also worked with them in the past. While Ianto had done his best in giving Dennis advice on how to work with each member of Torchwood, it did not change the simple fact that they did not truly trust him.

Still, he had made some small strides with his new colleagues; both Gwen and Toshiko engaged in small talk with him and went so far as to inquire about how he was adjusting to living in Cardiff. Gwen had dragged him to meet her boyfriend, someone no one else had met, at a pub quiz and then proceeded to try and set him up with some of her friends. Dennis didn't know if that was a passive-aggressive means of convincing him to leave Torchwood in favor of a "normal" life.

Toshiko required more careful handling; he sensed her fragile nature, even without Ianto's warning, and did not want to hurt her, even unintentionally. At the same time, she made an effort to talk with him, possibly out of guilt for ignoring Ianto when he first arrived and following the others in taking advantage of him. Dennis shared with her his love of anime and photography, and they had made plans to attend a gallery opening when it coincided with a free night from Torchwood.

He had decided to act politely towards Doctor Harper, but did not go out of his way to interact with him. Doctor Harper, in turn, ignored him except when he couldn't. Captain Harkness continued to observe Dennis and kept his thoughts to himself. He did, however, make sure that Dennis could handle firearms to his satisfaction, understood the security protocols in place in Torchwood, and could use the comms and computer system well enough to help coordinate the team's efforts when they went out on a Rift alert.

It did not take longer than a week for Dennis to feel comfortable maneuvering through the Torchwood system and while he still did not have access to the Archives, he had become familiar with the system Ianto had begun so that he would not need to learn it when he did gain access. He had also taken over the general support duties Ianto had held, which had both surprised and endeared him to his fellows. All in all, Dennis led a mostly quiet existence within Torchwood, being careful not to overstep the bounds carefully delineated by the others.

And slowly, they relaxed around him and accepted his presence with politeness rather than wariness. It was better than he expected.

* * *

Dennis finished putting up around his station the photographs his brother had taken of the various Marauders before his death. They were a precious reminder; of his brother, of the war, of all that had shaped and changed him into the person he now was. He had debated about doing this since the only other person who had put up personal photos was Gwen, but he decided that he was going to hide who he was. Besides, he drew comfort from them.

He didn't think much of it until he came back from putting away the newly arrived supplies to find Gwen looking at them. "Are these your friends?" she asked with a welcoming smile.

How to explain that they were so much more than friends? Dennis didn't know, so he simply nodded. "Yep. From school. My brother took them," he volunteered the information.

She picked up one of the frames and examined it closer. She frowned delicately and traced a face in it. "Is this… is this _Ianto_?" she gasped and looked at Dennis with wide eyes. In the background, something clattered to the ground and it seemed as if everyone's focus had suddenly centered on the two of them. He ignored it all and leaned over to see which picture she had grabbed.

His smile grew soft as he remembered the day it had been taken; it was not long before Colin died, among the last rolls he had ever shot in fact. It featured, as so many of his last rolls did, the Marauders in all their tired, exhausted glory. Colin had captured Ianto, Daphne, Luna, Neville, Harry, and Blaise as they lounged on the shores of the Black Lake. A stately tree provided shade for the sextet and consequently hid the dirt and blood that stained their clothes. They wore relaxed smiles and leaned into each other, all utterly unselfconscious.

"Yeah, that's him and a bunch of our mates," he said. "We all went to the same school, though I was younger and in a different house than him."

"So, you're friends with Ianto?" Gwen asked, still sounded as if she couldn't believe it.

"Yeah," Dennis admitted with a shrug and took the picture frame from her and set it back on his desk. "MI-13 recruits pretty heavily from our school; a lot of our schoolmates ended up working there."

"Do… do you still keep in touch with him?" she asked, sounding a mix of hopeful and fearful.

"We keep in touch. Better in the last few months than he was in London, but given the circumstances, I'm not surprised," Dennis admitted.

"Oh," she said. "Is… is he happy?"

He looked at her sharply and with a small frown. "I thought none of you particularly cared for him?" he asked.

She squirmed under his gaze and averted her gaze for a moment. "We took him for granted," she finally corrected. "It was a great shock to hear that he had decided to leave Torchwood."

Dennis snorted with disbelief but didn't contradict her. "He's happy, or he was last time I spoke to him. Very busy — they have him working on some top secret project," he informed her.

She didn't say anything else and after one last lingering look at the photos, left him alone. He settled down in his chair and continued on with his work. And, as he left the Hub later that day, he couldn't help but wonder if this new knowledge would change anything.

* * *

Despite his worries, the others didn't change their outward behavior towards him. He had noticed that several of his photos had been rearranged but no one else had asked him about Ianto; he did not know if that was due to an actual lack of care or embarrassment at having to ask.

Torchwood-Three, Dennis was fast discovering, was made up of the most dysfunctional group of people with whom he had ever had the pleasure or misfortune of working. And that included his time spent in the war. Captain Harkness was simply biding his time, waiting for something that Torchwood could not give him. Gwen, for all that she insisted on having a life outside of Torchwood, persisted in her affair with Doctor Harper, seemingly convinced no one else had caught on to it. The physician, for his part, was bitter in his life, using Torchwood as recompense for something. Toshiko, from what he observed, led a solitary life and sought something more though she never acted on it.

How the four of them managed to work together and keep Torchwood afloat, he didn't understand but somehow they did.

Dennis continued to float on the edges of Torchwood, quietly performing his duties, though he'd happily ask questions or participate in lunchtime conversations. Captain Harkness even unbent enough to allow him access to the Archives, a duty upon which he leapt. He found all the alien artifacts stored there fascinating, even if he did not particularly care for organizing and cataloguing them. And, it kept him from cleaning the Weevil cages… again.

He was in the Archives when Captain Harkness called him on the comms. It was a rare enough occurrence that he obeyed the order immediately and hurried up to the main level of the Hub. He stopped by a secondary armory and grabbed a 9mm he felt comfortable using and a charged taser on his way. Better to be overly prepared than risk harm coming to one of his colleagues.

The scene he came upon was not one he had expected and his heart pounded with adrenaline and fear. A strange woman held Tosh hostage, demanding the oddly shaped object Torchwood had discovered earlier in the week. He sidled closer, his hand itching to grab his wand and stun the woman even as the Captain and Doctor Harper attempted to talk her down. It didn't work and the woman continued to prey on Toshiko's weaknesses, attempting to turn the team against each other with her crude manipulations.

He watched, helpless to act, as the woman shoved Toshiko to the side and greedily snatched up the proffered transport and left the Hub in a blinding show of lights. Watched as Toshiko began sobbing, how Captain Harkness comforted her while the other two looked at her with distaste tinged with shame on the part of Gwen.

Left at loose ends, Dennis set about clearing up the Hub and a pot of tea before leaving quietly.

* * *

The next night, he waited patiently in front of Toshiko's door with a bouquet of flowers and a cooked meal. The Captain had given her the day off to 'get her bearings' as he had put it and she hadn't protested the order. Dennis thought it was for the best, considering how Gwen and Harper had acted as if they had been violated by her actions. True, reading someone's thoughts was not the most ethical of behavior, but Toshiko had been influenced by an alien entity who had preyed upon her weaknesses to use her for her own gain.

Dennis himself did not have much sympathy for the two, if only because the main reason they were so annoyed was because she had discovered the affair the two of them had begun.

The door opened and he smiled, trying to project the idea he was harmless while he offered her the bouquet. "Hello, Toshiko," he said.

"Dennis?" she asked, a frown furrowing her brow as she held the door open for him to enter. "What are you doing here?"

"Thought you might like some company," he said as he glanced around her flat with interest. While not as tidy as it might be, it still looked very much like he had imagined. "I brought some food, if you don't mind me being here."

She just stared at him for a long moment and he shuffled his feet, wondering if he had, perhaps, made a mistake in coming.

"I guess food sounds good," she finally said and led him into the open kitchen. He pulled out the various containers full of hot food while she set the table. It wasn't long before they began to eat and Dennis kept up a running commentary on his day at Torchwood and some of the more amusing artifacts he had had to catalogue lately. Toshiko at least pretended interest as she listlessly ate the food Zex had prepared for them.

"Why are you doing this?" she finally asked, her gaze haunted as she tried to discern his motive.

He sighed and put down his fork and knife. Picking up his napkin, he carefully wiped his mouth before setting it down next to his plate. "I know what it's like," he replied.

"How can you?" she asked and looked angry.

"The first girl I kissed, the girl I loved and thought I'd marry, she turned out to be a… an enemy agent," he told her. He gave her a bitter smile. "I refused to believe it, of course. Not her, not my love. No way was she working for the other side and even if she had, of course there was a suitable explanation for it. My friends did everything they could to convince me of the truth, but I was obstinate and believed I was right." He sighed and took a sip of the wine he had brought. "In the end, I didn't have much of a choice. They put us both in a situation where I knew there was no way she could be coerced and I heard her voice tell me that the love I thought she felt for me was an all an act. That she had chosen me because I was the easiest to fool, that I had fallen for her lies."

"What happened?" Toshiko wanted to know. He gave a self-deprecating shrug.

"What normally does," he answered. "I was devastated and vowed never to allow anyone close to me again. My friends took care of me and made sure I didn't do anything stupid. They also made sure she couldn't hurt anyone else with her actions. And, a few months later, I found someone else to love and I learned that not everyone was going to use me for their own means."

"So, what? She chose me because I was the most pathetic?" Toshiko sounded incredibly bitter as she asked her question. She gulped down some wine; he reached over and patted her hand gently.

"Not at all," he assured her. "We know that Mary watched the site the transporter was found and saw Torchwood take it with them. I stayed in the Hub during the retrieval, or she might have gone after me." He paused to wet his throat with a sip of the wine. "Consider the others you were with. She wouldn't have wanted to risk the boss, since she didn't know how much he might know about the transport or her species. That left you, Gwen, and Harper. Even if Harper wasn't shagging Gwen, he's not the type of bloke who'd want to see the bird he picked up the night before again. She had no hook with him. Gwen's dating and living with Rhys. He's not the type who'd add a third to their bed and she wouldn't be able to spend the night with her. That leaves you."

"I was ripe for the picking," she said.

"No," Dennis disagreed. "You believed what she said because it had a ring of truth to it."

"I was a fool," she chastised herself.

"Maybe but love is never something to forgo," Dennis insisted. He leaned forward to capture her eyes. "Love can be incredibly painful but it is worth it all. What Mary did was awful. She violated your trust and made you doubt yourself. But you can't let her beat you. Take the experience as a lesson and learn from it."

She remained silent for a moment before slowly shaking her head. "I don't know if I can," she admitted.

"You can. I have faith in you," he assured her. "Now come, eat up. Things will look better in the morning."

She looked doubtful, but obeyed and picked up her utensils to eat. He didn't leave her until he had helped clean up after dinner.

"I'm always here if you need to talk," he told her and stood on tiptoe to kiss her forehead before heading home. He hoped he had managed to lighten her burden, just a little bit. She was a good person and didn't deserve what had happened to her. Hopefully, she would realize that.

* * *

It took months before Ianto and Fleur were confident they had, at last, deciphered the last of the ward scheme. They were the last of their group to finish; the twins and Luna had completed the potion a month ago while Blaise and Astoria had announced they had solved the last of the arithmancy equations a few days ago.

"I think… I think we're done," Ianto told Fleur with a hint of relief in his voice. She lifted tired eyes to meet his and blew out a breath of air.

"Finally," she exclaimed. He laughed and leaned back in his chair.

"I'm sure Bill will like that you come home at a reasonable time," he teased. She gave him a playful slap and laughed.

"Oh, you…" she admonished. Then a wicked gleam came into her eye. "And you… do you have someone waiting for you?"

He rolled his eyes, unable to help the faint flush from creeping onto his face. The others had followed George in teasing Blaise about Ianto, though his friend had not indicated an actual interest in renewing their relations. He seemed to sense what the others couldn't in that Ianto just wasn't ready to enter another relationship, not so soon after Lisa's death.

"Do you think Luna will finally tell us what all this is for?" he asked instead.

"Only one way to find out," Fleur said with a grin and rose with an elegant grace from her seat to go and find Luna. She let Ianto to gather their various notes and set up in the conference room. He didn't mind. It let him double-check their findings one last time.

* * *

"This wasn't an exercise," Luna announced after Ianto and Fleur had finished explaining the ward scheme. "But I'm sure you knew that." She gave them all a knowing smile, even as the team all looked suddenly more alert and wary.

"Where will we be casting the ward?" Fleur asked, biting her lip in a nervous gesture.

Luna casually waved her wand and a map of Great Britain appeared. Another flick and she overlaid the arithmancy equations Blaise and Astoria had solved on it; they watched as it sank into the map and highlighted a particular corner of the country. Ianto swallowed heavily as he saw it was Cardiff.

"For the last year, Seers all around the world have Seen an apocalyptic event. The earliest reports placed it happening somewhere in Great Britain; a researcher in Israel found the ward scheme we've just deciphered in a collection dating back over three hundred years. The team there believe that the origins of the ward date to much earlier but that aspects were added or refined as knowledge of warding grew."

"That would explain the South American scripts," Ianto pointed out. Luna nodded and continued.

"We don't know what's coming. All that is known is that some ancient evil will break free and that unless its prison is rewarded and sealed, it will devour the world."

"No pressure then," Fred quipped with a light grin.

* * *

Dennis never expected to return to his flat and find Ianto, and Blaise waiting for him. "Hello," he greeted. "I'm going to guess this isn't a social call?"

Ianto rolled his eyes and sat down on the sofa. Blaise simply raised an eyebrow and shook his head. "Something big is coming," he warned. Next to him, Ianto snorted.

"Can you give me something more?" Dennis asked and passed over glasses of hot butterbeer.

"Unfortunately, no," Ianto admitted with a grimace. "Luna said a bunch of Seers have seen something getting loose in this area. The project she's had our team working on is supposed to stop it but… if it doesn't work, it'll devour the world."

Dennis groaned. "Sounds like fun."

"Oh yeah," Ianto agreed and smirked.

"I take it I'm involved somehow?" he asked and looked apprehensive.

Blaise and Ianto exchanged a look with one another before Blaise reached into his robe and pulled out a copy of the map Luna had showed them earlier. He laid it on the table; Dennis leaned closer to watch as he began to point out the four places the warders would need to stand. "The ward is going to need four people to cast. A fifth is going to be the anchor, the one to actually take the power of the ward and use it to send whatever it is back into its prison."

Dennis frowned as he examined the markings. "One of the casters needs to be in the Hub?" he asked, his startled brown eyes meeting Ianto's. He nodded in reply. Dennis swallowed heavily. "Does that mean I need to learn to cast it?"

Ianto was shaking his head before he could finish speaking. "No, you're not one of the casters or the anchor."

"You're not magically strong enough to be either," Blaise cooly explained. "We need something different from you."

"Oh, thank Merlin!" Dennis exclaimed. "I hate warding," he admitted.

"It's not for everyone," Ianto agreed.

"What do you need me for?" he asked.

"One, we need you to get us the blueprints for the Hub. The caster needs to be in an exact place, which means Astoria and me get to use arithmancy to figure that out," Blaise answered, counting out his points with a finger. "Two, when whatever is coming comes, you're going to need to let us know. We have a charm for you to use for that. And three, you're going to have to have Torchwood lead whatever comes to where the anchor will be waiting."

Dennis leaned back in his chair and blew out a breath. "You're not asking for much, are you?"

"We're working with the Aurors on this, so it's not just going to be Unspeakables out there. But I know Torchwood and you've worked there long enough to know how they're going to react to whatever comes. Do you really think they're going to sit and cower in the Hub while something's out there, ready to devour the world?" Ianto asked.

Shaking his head, Dennis admitted he couldn't. "I can get the blueprints easy enough. And obviously, letting you know when it comes isn't a problem. I'm sure I can figure something out."

"Good," Blaise nodded firmly.

Ianto called Zex and asked for dinner, something the house elf was more than happy to provide. They spent the rest of the night discussing nothing more serious than their jobs and what life had thrown them in the last few months. It was nice to have a relaxing night like that.

* * *

Ianto was't used to see so many people in the briefing room. Someone had cast an expansion charm on the room, so it wasn't uncomfortable, but since he usually only saw his team in the room, it gave him pause for a moment. Aurors and Unspeakables as well as a few other witches and wizards mingled in the room. He sat between Blaise and Fleur and pulled out a notebook and biro for notes. Blaise handed him a cup of tea, made exactly as he liked. His friend had taken to doing little things like that lately, though he seemed to instinctively understand Ianto wasn't ready to enter a romantic relationship with him. Ianto suspected he would wait patiently until he was — and Ianto wasn't adverse to that.

Luna began the meeting as soon as Harry and Neville walked in and took their seats. "Good morning," she began. "We all know why we're here. A threat is coming that will devour the world and we're going to stop it." She gave the room a brilliant smile, as if it was as easy as simply saying it to make it happen. Maybe it was, since Ianto noted that many of the people in the room sat up straighter.

"We know the place, we know the ward to use, we just don't know when this will happen. Fortunately, we have someone in the area who will alert us when it comes," Luna continued. It was strange to see the normally flighty woman acting so serious until Ianto remembered how she had given debriefings during the war. And was this not another sort of battle like the ones he had fought all those years ago?

"Fleur will now explain what will occur once we get to Cardiff."

Ianto gave his friend and mentor a small smile as the tall blonde rose gracefully from her seat and took the front of the room. "Good morning," her soft voice said, with just a hint of her native accent. "The ward we will use to contain the creature requires four casters and a fifth person to banish it back to its prison." She flicked her wand and pulled up a map of the Cardiff area, with stars to represent where people were needed. "Luna, Ianto, Bill, and myself shall cast the ward while Harry shall banish the creature. Because the ward is extraordinarily difficult to cast, we cannot defend ourselves once we begin. Auror Black will hand out the protection assignments."

Sirius stood from his seat and took over. "Each of the five shall be protected by two others. The rest of the Unspeakables and Aurors will do their best to protect Cardiff from the creature while ensuring that it reaches Harry's position. Dennis Creevey has agreed to make sure that Torchwood does the same. Luna has handed out charms that you will all wear. When those charms go off, you will make sure you are wearing your battlegear and you will apparate to your assigned coordinates. Read the packets you've been given. If I find out that you haven't and you end up compromising the operation, I will not be happy." Sirius looked sternly at everyone in the room. At that moment, no one could doubt that he wouldn't make them suffer if they acted in a foolish manner.

No one would take that chance.

* * *

"Are you going to be able to handle this?" Ianto asked Harry. Luna and Neville had shoved the two of them into a room and locked the door behind them. It was more of a gesture than anything else, since between the two of them, they could open it and free themselves. On the other hand, it was a pointed reminder that they needed to get over the tension that lay between them. After several moments of uncomfortable silence, Ianto had decided to take the proverbial bull by its horns and cut to the heart of the situation.

"We've worked together before," Harry pointed out. He stood stiffly with his back against one of the walls.

"Yeah, but we've never had to cast a spell together that requires complete trust between each other," Ianto pointed out.

"I do trust you," Harry protested. At Ianto's snort of disbelief, he grimaced. "I do. I just…" He trailed off and huffed, crossing his arms and scowling. "I resent you. Sometimes."

Ianto couldn't stop the look of disbelief on his face. "Why?" he asked.

Harry's eyes shifted away from his for a moment before he sighed and answered. "Sirius. I'm jealous at the relationship you have with him."

"He's your godfather," Ianto pointed out. He moved closer to the other man.

"But you're so close to him!" Harry complained and sighed again. "Look. I know it's irrational. I know he loves me but sometimes it's hard to remember that when you're living with him and he's protecting you and not me and he looks after you."

Ianto blinked. Tentatively, he reached out a hand to clasp Harry's shoulder. He waited until the other man met his gaze. "Sirius loves you," he said. "He looks after me because he worries. I… you weren't there when the Order found me not long before Christmas. He was and…" Ianto gave a bit of a shrug. "I don't know if I'd be here today if it weren't for him. And I can promise you that he would drop everything for you. He loves you so much."

He shrugged but didn't remove Ianto's hand from his body. "I… I know that. I do," he insisted at Ianto's look of disbelief. "I just… Look, we met under really bad circumstances and well, you know my story."

Ianto nodded and looked at him thoughtfully. "You never knew your parents and Sirius was your only real family." Ianto gave him a sad smile. "And then, you come back for Christmas and find him watching over some Hufflepuff you've never met who's traumatized and recovering from being tortured by the Death Eaters. And he doesn't have as much time for you as you want."

Harry nodded and looked… abashed. "Stupid, huh."

"No," Ianto shook his head. "No, I think you were fifteen and needed someone to call your own." He squeezed Harry's shoulder and let him go. Harry gave him an uncertain smile. "Look, I need to know if you'll trust me enough to do this. We have one shot at this and well…"

"I know," Harry said quietly. "And… I do trust you, you know. You've stood by my side since you healed and I know Luna and Neville trust you. I think…" He turned thoughtful eyes to him. "You left after the war and didn't contact anyone until recently. Sirius didn't even ask, he just assumed he would take care of you and well…" he looked away, a bit embarrassed. "I was so used to having him to myself that I forgot that he considers you part of his family too."

"I'm sorry," Ianto apologized. "I… I should have been more aware of how you might feel. I know… I know you're jealous of my relationship with Sirius and while we've dealt with it before, it was before all this."

"I'm an adult, Ianto," Harry said with a rueful smile. "I should have talk this over with someone, not been forced to."

"So am I," Ianto countered. "And I should have done it too.

"So… we're both idiots?" Harry asked with a small smile.

Ianto rolled his eyes and nodded.

And, as if that was all that was needed, the door clicked open and Neville stuck his head inside. "Everything alright, then?" he asked.

Harry smiled and walked over to his lover, giving him a quick kiss. "Thank you," he said.

"Oh, good," Neville said and smiled widely. "Come on. Luna had the house elves make some tea for us."

Ianto couldn't help the smile that crossed his face. Things were back to normal.

* * *

Dennis really wished he had one of the Marauders here as back up. Things at Torchwood were not going well and he could tell that he would soon need to activate the charm. He sighed and settled into his chair. Torchwood was falling apart and had been since Christmas. Harper had all but checked out, his heart broken by the loss of the time traveler pilot, Diane Holmes. When Harkness and Toshiko had found themselves in the past, Gwen and Harper had sent him out to the theater to see what had happened. He didn't know what happened, but it had resulted in Gwen shooting Harper in the shoulder and the Rift being opened to bring the two wayward members home. And since then, the team had been run ragged, trying to keep up with everything that the Rift was bringing to them.

He considered just sleeping in the chair for a moment before groaning and stumbling to his desk. He penned a quick note to Luna to warn her that things were heating up in Cardiff and sent it via owl. He barely made it to his bed before he fell asleep. He didn't even stir when Zex popped in to check on him and leave him a few potions Susan had made for him to help with the exhaustion. When he woke in the morning, he saw them and smiled.

The other Marauders might not physically be here, but they were still watching over him. It made him feel better.

* * *

Luna shuddered as the vision hit. It frightened her more than anything else had in too many years. It didn't last long but once it was over, all she wanted was to _obliviate_ the last few minutes from her mind. Unfortunately, she couldn't. The information she had received was too important.

"Are you alright?" Neville asked as he knelt at her feet. Harry hovered by her shoulder, looking equally concerned.

"It's old," she said. "Very old and very hungry. We can't fail."

Neville clutched her hand in his and Harry held her shoulder. "We won't," Harry assured her. "We're ready."

"I hope so," she said and smiled tiredly.

* * *

For once, the emergency occurred in the middle of the day. Dennis didn't really know what had happened; Harkness had sent him home to catch some sleep because he'd been up for too long. He had had a strange dream involving Colin telling him to open the Rift, that it would make everything better. Then, Toshiko had woken him by ringing him up and telling him they needed him back at the Hub. By the time he got there, the others had shot Harkness and initiated the process to fully open the Rift.

The bad feelings Dennis had been sensing for some time coalesced into a hard knot in his stomach. He didn't even hesitate to activate his charm as the Hub began to shake and break around them.

"We have to get out of here!" Gwen shouted, dragging Jack by an arm. "We have to all get out of here. Help me with him!"

"He's dead, Gwen!" Harper shouted. She shook her head stubbornly.

"He'll be back." As if her words acted as a summons, he gasped back to life. Dennis had to hand it to him, he took in the entire situation in a single glance and ordered everyone out. They used the invisible lift, crowding onto it in a huddle. Tosh was crying silently and Harper looked contrite in a mulish manner. Gwen hovered over Harkness, while he just looked resigned.

A man dressed in old-fashioned clothing waited for them as they stumbled off the lift. Dennis recognized him from the old dance hall. He smiled eerily even as Harper, Gwen, and Tosh gasped in what seemed liked recognition. He hadn't been aware that they too had met him.

"Bilis Manger," Harkness intoned.

"My Master wakes!" he shouted and pointed towards the shadow of some very large creature. The team clutched each other in fright; Harkness looked defiant as he glared at Manger. "You cannot stop him. Abbadon the Devourer is set free!" he cackled and disappeared from sight. Dennis barely managed to snap a tracking charm onto him before he did so. Hopefully one of the Aurors or Unspeakables could track him down.

"Fuck," Harper moaned.

"Jack, what are we going to do?" Gwen asked as she tugged on his coat. He looked at her, a bit coldly before turning to Dennis. "Get the SUV. We need to get him away from the city."

Nodding, Dennis took off in a run for the underground parking lot in which the SUV was parked. As he clambered in to drive it to Harkness, he snapped off a patronus to let Luna and the others know the name of the thing released. He said a quick prayer for his friends and hoped they could handle it.

* * *

"Good luck," Ianto told Fleur right before they apparated from their office to their assigned coordinates. They had flasks of the potions that Luna and the Weasley twins had brewed attached to their belts and the warding stones they would use for the casting. Not long after Ianto arrived in the Hub, Blaise and Sirius popped in next to him.

"Do you know where you need to go?" Sirius asked, his eyes scanning for any threats with his wand at the ready.

"Memorized the plans," Blaise said and took point as he led them to the perfect spot for the casting. It was an empty room in the Archives, near where Ianto had kept Lisa. He resolutely forced himself not to think of such things and instead focused on the situation at hand. Casting a spell, he removed the cement and dirt from the ground, making a hole big enough for the stone he carried. He carefully set it in place and readied the potions. He checked the time and saw he had moments before they would need to start. He uncorked the first of the potions and as the secondary charm on his wrist heated up, he drank it, forcing himself not to gag at its noxious taste.

"It's beginning!" Blaise warned Sirius and they ranged themselves around Ianto to protect him from anything that might try to interrupt him. Ianto ignored them as he continued with the beginning steps of the warding ritual.

First, the potion for him, than two potions for the warding stone. A flick of his knife and he dripped blood onto it; the runes and symbols glowed brightly before dimming slightly; another potion for him to drink and then another to wash the stone. He rose to his feet and began to chant, his wand waving as he began to pull forward the threads that would form the ward.

He and his fellow casters had practiced doing this in the weeks since deciphering the warding scheme. Everything had to be done at the exact same time or else the ward would weaken over time or fail to set properly. He concentrated on nothing else but the words he had memorized and the cadence in which he needed to chant them. Everything else was superfluous.

So deep was he in his casting that he didn't even notice when Bilis popped in with a shriek of rage and tried to kill him. Sirius and Blaise proved able to defend him though they were not quick enough to prevent Bilis from throwing a knife at Ianto. He barely bit back the scream that wanted to erupt at the pain and forced himself to continue chanting. He couldn't stop, not now, now when they were so close. He knelt back down to the ground and poured another potion on the stone. It pulsed with magic, reaching out to connect with the others. It glowed even brighter as it did, reflecting a powerful white color. It looked like the others hadn't messed up their parts either.

Now for the hardest part. He reached deep inside of him for his magic and began the last part of the chant, knowing that the other casters would be doing the same.

* * *

"Anyone know what that thing is capable of doing?" Harkness asked as he drove them recklessly after the creature they had inadvertently released. The others shook their head but Dennis had an answer. Of sorts.

"It's supposed to devour the world," he said. "According to legend, Abbadon can block out the sun and kill all that his shadow touches."

"That's not good," Gwen muttered.

"The sun doesn't set for hours!" Tosh pointed out.

"Which is why we're going to try and lead it to some isolated place where we can hopefully keep it from moving while we figure out how to kill it," Harkness snapped out.

Dennis wondered whether he should mention that he had called the members of MI-13 to help stop it. It didn't seem to matter as Jack swerved to a stop and spun the SUV around. "Grab what weapons we have and let's see if we can stop this thing," he ordered. They scrambled out and Toshiko handed out the weapons commonly held in the SUV. Dennis didn't think it would work.

"Who's that fool in the middle of the field?" Harkness asked. Squinting, Dennis could make out the distant figures of three people, two of which were in the red robes of aurors. The third was in black and held his wand at the ready.

"You will not defeat my Master!" Bilis shrieked as he popped next to them. "You guns and spells will not work!"

"Watch us!" Jack sneered as he strode forward. Dennis hurried forward to follow but not before stunning Bilis. One of the Aurors or Unspeakables that he knew was around would take him into custody.

Even as they neared the creature, keeping well outside of the shadow, a gleaming wall of light formed. Glyphs, symbols and runes of all different kinds glimmered in the air, pulsating with visible power. Dennis could scarcely breathe in the now-heavy atmosphere; he couldn't imagine what it must be like where Harry and the other aurors stood. Jack made as if to enter the field, but Dennis held him back. "Don't!" he hissed. "If you distract him, it'll not only kill him but destroy the world."

"What the hell do you mean!" Jack demanded and almost pulling his gun on him. Dennis swallowed hard but stood his ground.

"He's MI-13. They've been planning without knowing when it was going to happen," he tried to explain. Behind him, he could hear the others exclaiming in shock.

Fortunately, before Jack could respond, the air thickened and Abbadon screamed with rage and denial.

The aurors protecting the anchor grimly held on as Harry in turn sent forth a stream of energy to finish encasing Abbadon. Before their astonished eyes, he disappeared with one last scream of rage.

It was over.

* * *

Breathing heavily, Ianto sent his magic to meet that of the other casters, encircling the ward stones. Together, they sent a tendril of power towards Harry. He grasped it and pulled on the ward. It held strong and he used his own magic to strengthen it as he began to chant his portion of the warding scheme. Not long afterwards, Ianto felt and heard a _snap_ as the ward snapped in place and hummed. Quickly, he reopened the slash from earlier and dripped more blood on the stone before coating it with one more potion. The stone glowed brightly one last time before dimming. He nearly collapsed from the slight backlash of his magic returning to him.

Abbadon was imprisoned and Cardiff was safe.

That was good.

He barely had enough energy to fill in the hole and cover the ward stone. He layered protections over it to keep it safe and undisturbed before staggering to his feet. Blaise caught him as he almost fell.

"Let's get you to a Healer," he suggested.

Ianto was too tired to protest and followed Sirius and Blaise out of the Hub and on the Plass. Red- and blue-robed witches and wizards milled around; some getting patched up and others patrolling to make sure nothing else escaped. He raised a hand in greeting to Fleur and Bill as Blaise dragged him to Susan and forced him to sit down.

Susan clucked in sympathy as she ruthlessly cleaned the wounds Bilis had given him. Unlike last time, he didn't protest her treatment and meekly took the potions she shoved in his face. He knew when to fight and this wasn't that time.

* * *

Jack held his tumbler of scotch in his hand, letting the golden liquor slosh around while he tried to understand everything that had happened in the past day. He really didn't know what to think, didn't know how to handle what had happened. Not just the involvement of MI-13, though he did hate that they hadn't only butted in on a Torchwood case, but also the actions of his team.

"What am I going to do?" he muttered and snorted with unhappiness. He had grown complacent, hadn't thought his team — the team he had hand-chosen — would ever turn on him and decide to shoot him. He should have expected it after Alex. He closed his eyes. He hated feeling like this. Almost as much as he hated waiting for the Doctor.

On the one hand, he appreciated MI-13's help. He had a feeling if they hadn't been involved dealing with Abbadon would have been more difficult and more painful for him. On the other hand, he hated that they had invaded what he considered his territory. He had held onto Torchwood's autonomy with his fingernails at times, all so he could wait for the Doctor. After a day like this, he just wasn't sure it was worth it.

_/fin_


End file.
